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Zephyrhills rejects one-way Gall Boulevard plan

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By LAURA KINSLER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 10, 2009

ZEPHYRHILLS - The City Council on Monday rejected a Florida Department of Transportation plan that would convert Gall Boulevard to a one-way street.

President Jodi Wilkeson said there was no need for more discussion, and council members adopted formal resolution without a hint of dissent. "We've already talked this thing to death," Wilkeson said.

City leaders want the DOT to redo a preliminary design for widening U.S. 301, also known as Gall Boulevard, through downtown Zephyrhills. The $70 million road project, scheduled to start in 2015, would convert Gall into a one-way street for northbound traffic. All southbound traffic would be diverted to Sixth Street, which is one-way. Both streets eventually would be widened to three lanes.

The project is aimed at alleviating congestion on the 1.8-mile segment between State Road 39 and North Avenue, but city leaders prefer a plan that would extend Seventh Street, which is one-way, to carry the bulk of the northbound traffic. The city's plan would keep two-way traffic on Gall and give it more of a small-town, main street feel.

The resolution also asks the DOT to transfer that segment of U.S. 301 and the intersection with Fort King Road to Zephyrhills so the city can redevelop the corridor on its own terms.

"We've invested a lot of money to hire consultants who have told us that what we're asking for is a reasonable request," Wilkeson said.

But rejecting the DOT plan puts the city at risk of losing the state and federal funding already earmarked for the project. The DOT has allocated $31 million to buy right of way for the widening project beginning in 2014.

"That money has been paid in on our behalf, and we don't want to lose it," Wilkeson said.

In other business, the council approved a new, incentive-based fire sprinkler ordinance less than four months after voting to repeal an earlier ordinance.

The controversial 2007 ordinance required the installation of sprinkler systems in all commercial structures greater than 5,000 square feet. Business owners complained that it was too onerous, since state fire code does not require the systems unless a building is 12,000 square feet or larger.

The new version was drafted to encourage business owners to voluntarily add fire sprinklers by authorizing council to waive inspection fees, permit fees and property taxes for cooperating businesses.

The council also granted a permit for the developer of a vacant industrial park on Chancey Road to
hold a flea market there on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

The owners said they were approached by the same person who lobbied unsuccessfully to operate a flea market in front of the Crystal Lake community near the intersection of State Road 54 and Morris Bridge Road. Pasco County commissioners rejected that request, but Zephyrhills City Manager Steve

Spina said the Park Place site on Chancey Road is more appropriate because it's in an industrial area.

Reporter Laura Kinsler can be reached at (813) 259-8109.

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